


Playing House

by Lafyel



Series: The Neighborhood [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-07
Updated: 2013-11-07
Packaged: 2017-12-31 18:19:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1034880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafyel/pseuds/Lafyel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is Eren's babysitter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Playing House

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Levi is Eren’s neighbor. Levi is in his early 20’s and Eren is his usual 15
> 
> Rating will change knowing that I wrote this and just /yeah/
> 
> Also if you see any spelling/grammatical errors please let me know
> 
> This was a request I received on tumblr ages ago

Part I

It’s eerily silent – the house is almost still.

Almost, because Eren is standing at the top of the stairs glaring daggers down at the man before him, at the man standing at the foot of the staircase. He’s trying to ignore the warmth creeping up his neck, the tiny voice that is cheering in the back of his mind. He’s ignoring it because his parents chose to ignore him.

Or really they just decided he needed a baby sitter.

And what’s worse is that they chose their neighbors son, their neighbors son who’s in college and really quite amazing at everything – except for human interaction.

Eren’s glare intensifies as the man takes a step up the staircase.

“It’d be a damn shame if your face stuck like that.”

“Well it looks like yours is frozen in place.” Eren snaps back, “Levi…” He doesn’t really want to be mean, doesn’t want to have to spend his whole three day weekend with the man being angry and upset. But he is, he’s upset that his parents couldn’t trust him enough to let him be alone for three days and to take care of himself.

They went and got him a baby sitter.

They went and asked Levi to stay in their house, to sleep in their guest room, to use their fridge and sit in their living room all because Eren was too young. He wasn’t that young, he was in high school and he spent plenty of time home alone during the week, what was a couple of days? Eren balled his hands into fists, face still scrunched up somewhere between angry and pouting.

“When you’re done being butt hurt, I’ll be in the living room and we can discuss dinner and how things are going to be while I’m here.” Levi turns and disappears through the doorway.

Eren wants to kick and scream and throw a hissy fit.

But mostly he wants to apologize to Levi suddenly, because he’s not mad at him really, he’s mad at his parents.

The brunette pouts at the others sudden absence. He listens to the television in the living room being turned on, can hear Levi as he clicks through some channels before settling on something to watch. Eren takes a single step down the staircase, nervous. He waits a moment and then takes another, quiet.  
He’s nervous because it’s starting to hit him, the realization that Levi is in his living room, sitting on his couch, watching his TV.

That Levi is going to be sleeping in the guest room…

The room that’s connected to his from the bathroom.

Eren freezes three steps down the staircase, face going very, very pale. He turns and scrambles back up the stairs and into his bathroom. He stares, slightly wide eyed and panicked at the mess, at his dirty clothes tossed on the ground, at his open tooth paste on the counter, the mysterious water stains on the glass.

He starts to frantically clean, to try and tidy the room up just a little bit. Eren dumps his clothes on the floor in his room, near where the rest of them are gathered – half-hazardly. He’s never been the neatest, that’s always been Armin, with the cleanest and shiniest room, the dust free counter tops and the open window.

Eren scrunches his nose up at the thought of opening his curtains, of having people look into his room.  
He picks up the used dishes scattered across his room, makes a precarious tower and starts heading downstairs, slowly, avoiding the step that creaks. Eren sets his dishes in the sink, makes a mental note to wash them later, when he hears it, the opening to one of his favorite shows.

And he knows that it’s not playing right now, not a rerun and not a new episode – because it’s his favorite show. Eren drops the cup he was holding and darts into the living room, launching himself at Levi, at the remote he’s holding.

“Noooo!” Eren shouts “You’re going to get it deleted!” He snatches the remote up, hits the back button and exits out of the recorded episodes, out of the shows he’s taped during the week.

Levi doesn’t say anything, just looks down at Eren – at the teen that is lying across his lap.

“I didn’t think you were this easy Jaeger.”

Eren’s face turns red, color extending to his ears and the back of his neck. He scrambles away from Levi, to the other end of the couch, legs tucked up against his chest, eyes large and judging. He wants to make a retort, to say something in his defense except his mind is coming up blank.

Because did Levi seriously just flirt with him?

There is a slight upturn of the older man’s lips, a subtle but still very there movement.

And Eren feels like he’s being mocked and teased and nothing has been said.

“You wish I was.” He says after a moment, and Levi’s eyes flash as he starts to lean forward.

Eren thinks that the air is being sucked out of the room as his stupidly perfect and amazing neighbor is leaning towards him, closer –

So close that Eren closes his eyes, cheeks red and heart pounding. He can feel Levi breath against his ear.

“Stop being a baby you brat.” Levi leans back, yanks the remote away from the teen and starts to channel browse again. He slouches a little on the couch, sits with his legs crossed much like Eren has seen his mother sit, has seen the girls in his class sit.

He finds it strangely attractive when Levi does it.

His eyes travel the length of the black jeans the man is wearing, fixated on how they hug his legs, how his shirt is riding up just a little in the back and he can see a strip of too pale skin. Eren is fascinated by Levi’s clothes, by the way he dresses. He always has been, has watched the man through his window in the early mornings, has watched him out in the yard as he tends to the garden, pulling weeds and trimming the plants.

“You really need to stop checking me out, because I’m going to start thinking you actually like me.”  
Eren flushes, turns his eyes down and looks at his feet, at his dingy and worn socks. He wiggles his toes, nervous again. “I didn’t realize I was staring…” He tries an honest approach, wants to make an attempt at starting his weekend off on a good note.

His weekend with Levi…

He flushes at that thought, glances up at the other only to realize he’s being watched now.

Eren hides his face behind his knees, his forehead pressed against his kneecaps.

“Do you know what you want for dinner?”

The teen shakes his head, “I’m not hungry yet.” His voice is muffled from his position. Levi doesn’t press the issue, just settles on something to watch, and from the sound of it, it’s the history channel. Eren tilts his head and watches through a crack between his arm and his leg, curious of what the man is interested in.

They watch two whole episodes before Eren’s stomach makes this sound and Levi turns to stare at him. He set’s the remote down and stands, moves into the kitchen. Eren jumps up instantly and follows after him.

“Let me help…” His voice dies in his throat as the man gives him this look, glares at him as he points at the dishes in the sink.

“I know those weren’t there when I got here.”

“Ah…I uh… picked up my bedroom…?”

“Wash them. Now.” Levi disappears into the pantry while Eren drags his feet to the sink. He doesn’t want to whine or complain or do anything to get on the man’s bad side, but he really doesn’t like cleaning.

His mother normally did the dishes anyways…

Eren pouts as he turns the water on and wets the sponge, glances at Levi as he comes back out of the pantry. He has a small bag of pasta and the teen smiles because it’s actually the one he likes. He sets the freshly washed cup on the drying rack and starts on the bowl that’s been sitting in his room for a week – minimum.

“Is pasta good enough for you, or would you like more?” Levi sets the package on the stove top and turns to face the brunette. Eren glances over at Levi, tries to scrub at the mysterious chunks stuck to the bowl.

“That’s fine, do you know where the pots are?” He sets the bowl down and turns the water off, moves to pull a pan out of the cabinet.

“Finish the dishes, I know where they’re located – your mother showed me before she left.” Levi turns him by his shoulders and pushes him back towards the sink. “Finish them and then you can help me.” Eren’s ears flush red at the closeness of the man’s words, at the faint sensation of his breath on his neck. He finishes scrubbing the rest of the dishes in near record time, nervous at how quiet the room is. The teen dries his hands on the front of his pants and earns a glare from the dark haired man.

“Do you always do that?” Levi asks, not bothering to hide his distaste.

Eren just blinks at him, “Do what?”

“Never mind – look do you have homework that you have to do before Monday?” The older man skims over the directions for the pasta before filling the pot with water. “Because your mom wanted to make sure that it got done.” He sets the pot on the burner and looks over at the teen.

Eren is frowning. “Ah – I have some history handouts that need done?” He gives a small laugh that doesn’t go over well with Levi.

“Get the papers - I’m not letting you put it off all weekend.”

The teen’s shoulders sag as he drags his feet out of the kitchen.

-

Eren is balancing his pen between his upper lip and nose as the sun starts to set. He has his homework spread out over the kitchen table and his history book opened off to the side. Levi is washing the dishes from their dinner in the background. The pen wobbles a little bit before dropping onto the table. The teen hangs his head, already bored and hating history.

And really what kind of maniacal person assigns homework over a holiday weekend?

Well, in truth Eren didn’t believe Labor Day was a holiday but, he wasn’t going to argue against a day off of school.

Eren gets a sudden and strange sensation that he’s being watched – and when he turns around slowly, Levi is leaning over him. He didn’t even realize when the water from the sink stopped running.

“Ah…”

“Do you need help, or are you just naturally the procrastinating type?”

“I don’t need help!” The brunette’s cheeks flush and he grabs the pen that’s rolled away from him.

“Then finish your homework and we can watch a movie together.” When Levi leans back and heads towards the living room, his fingers brush over Eren’s collar.

The teen stiffens in response, ears burning. He opens his mouth to retort or make some kind of comment, but his mind his pretty much become mush. He turns back to his papers and starts to actually work on them, looking up the answers in his text book.

Levi doesn’t bother him again until the sun has gone down and the street lights have all flickered on. The house is quiet, the volume on the television too low for Eren to hear in the other room. He props his head up on his right hand and closes his eyes for a second, head aching just a bit. He’s having problems answering the last question.

There’s the clink of a chair being moved and green eyes fly open. Levi is almost mimicking his pose as he stares at him, the barest traces of a smirk gracing his lips.

Eren tries not to stare at the man’s mouth.

He looks away, a slight pout on his face.

“Having problems?” Levi is calm, seems a bit bored himself – the teen half expected to be mocked.

“The last one…” He pushes the paper towards the older man, who reads over the question. Levi tugs the text book closer and starts flipping through the pages. Eren watches, in awe of how graceful the other is, tries not to feel too jealous about it.

The book is turned back towards him, and Levi taps at a paragraph in the middle of the page. “I want to watch a movie so hurry up.” He stands and disappears back into the living room.

Eren scrambles for his papers and scribbles down an answer, doesn’t care if it’s right or not, because he’s going to watch a movie with Levi, with his amazing neighbor who is staying the night and he doesn’t have to go to bed or have his parents interrupt them.

The brunette snaps his text book shut and hurries to put his work away – or really he just tosses the book on his bed and all but jumps down the stairs.

Levi is sitting in the middle of the couch, legs crossed and back slouched just a little. He turns and looks at Eren, just stares at him, patiently waiting for him to sit down. The teen flops down on the couch to his left and pulls his legs up to his chest.

“So what are we watching?” He does his best to act casual, except he feels anything but. The dark haired man doesn’t reply, just picks the remote up and hits play.

Eren knows what movie this is within seconds and he tries to push his excitement down, because Levi picked it. _Levi picked it_. He glances at the older man, leans a bit closer to him. “So uh… you like this movie…?”

Levi leans towards the brunette, bumps their heads together. “Why else would I pick this?” Eren flushes at the others sudden closeness and opens his mouth to reply, except the man smirks.

_Smirks_

And Eren’s face becomes a bit warmer.

“Close your mouth before I find a better use for it.” Levi leans back, but doesn’t take his eyes off the teen. Eren promptly snaps his jaw shut, teeth clacking a bit from the force. He looks down at his feet, away from the older man, head swimming with thoughts. The movie plays in the background, a bit forgotten for a moment.

“…what would you use it for…?” He asks, ears burning and he doesn’t know why he suddenly decided to be bold.

Levi just hums in response, and the teen looks up, realizes that he isn’t being watched anymore. He feels a bit like a dweeb, like he should have said it sooner - that he missed his chance to actually flirt. Green eyes flip back to the television and he tries to school the blush on his face, wishes it wasn’t so glaringly obvious.

Then Levi lifts his arm and has his fingers tangled in Eren’s hair. They tug, pull at the messy locks and turn his head. “You don’t have any idea what you could use your mouth for?” Levi asks, deadpans almost and Eren is left gaping again. He makes a stuttered sound in response, something that turns into a chocking noise as the man leans in closer.

“Watch the movie, if you want we can talk more after.” He’s told before his head is turned back towards the television.

Eren just makes a sound in response, feels like he’s melting into the couch. He squeezes his legs closer to his body and does his best to not dwell on what’s been said. The movie plays on, uninterrupted until the credits start to roll. It’s around that time that Eren realizes that his legs are aching from the position he’s been sitting in, and he stretches them out, hisses at the discomfort.

Levi is staring at him, expression close to neutral. He stands after a moment, turns the television off and puts the DVD away. Eren has melted, boneless, onto the couch. His legs are outstretched and his spine curved giving him the look of a rag doll.

“Mother dearest said you have a bedtime.”

Eren flushes bright red, turns and looks off at the wall, pouts a little.

“And it looks like that’s about to happen in…3…2…1…”

“Oh come on!” The teen whines, sitting up on the couch. “I don’t have school tomorrow and it’s not like they’ll know!”

Levi holds his index finger up and points it at the teen. “Bed time." Eren continues to pout, crosses his arms over his chest, does everything in his power to no look at Levi again.

Until the man walks around the couch and heads for the stairs.

The teen feels a bit of panic in his chest and spins around, watches the other walk up the stairs. “Wh-where are you going?”

“To your room.”

Eren is up in less than a second, is running up the stairs and flinging himself in front his bedroom door, panic written all over his face.

“No.” He says as Levi stands on the top step.

“Then you’ll go to bed on your own?” Levi gives a half smile, almost a smirk at the sound Eren makes, something that’s akin to a drowning cat. He takes another step forward, hand on the baluster, watches the teen coolly.

The two just stare at each other, Eren in a mild panic, Levi calm yet amused.

The man’s small smile becomes a bit more of a smirk as he takes another slow step forward, watches as Eren’s sheer panic starts to rise at their proximity. He stares up into the bright green eyes, hand reaching for the door knob.

“You should relax, it’s not like I’m going to disappear while you’re sleeping.”

Eren opens his mouth to protest, but the door knob is turned and the door he was leaning against slides open behind him. He falls on his butt in the darkened room, embarrassed as Levi leans over him, flicks the light to the room on.

And he frowns, cool gray eyes turning down onto him.

“We’re cleaning your room.”

“What? It is clean!” A chill runs down the teen’s spin and he has the strongest urge to reach up and flip the light back off. “…kind of…?” He adds after a second, seeing the look on the others face.

“You want to stay up?” Levi asks, crouching down to Eren’s level. “I’ll let you, only if we clean your room. Right. Now.”

-

Levi is adamant about it being clean, about scrubbing the walls and dusting the curtains and moving things that Eren can’t remember the last time were moved. He learns how to properly use the washing machine, after a small and rather passionate rant from the other, and is smacked on the back of his head for how atrocious his folding his.

The vacuum gets dragged up the stairs, is ran over the floor once by Eren and then repeated for a second and third time before Levi deems the carpet clean enough. By the time Levi finally relents and says that their done, Eren is beyond exhausted and is lying atop his freshly washed bed bonelessly. He has his eyes shut, listening to the ceiling fan hum above him when his leg is nudged.

“Can’t sleep yet.” Levi says, standing in front of him. “You need to shower now.”

The teen groans in response, pulls his legs up onto the bed and rolls onto his side. He faces the opposite wall, eyes shut and starts to drift off when the bed dips. His shoulder is pulled on lightly and he rolls onto his back, pulls his eyes open.

Levi stares down at him, traces of a smile on his face.

“Take a shower and you can go to sleep.”

Eren opens his mouth, to protest but it ends up as a small whine. “But I’m tired.” He manages after a moment.

“You wanted to stay up.”

“That’s your fault.”

Levi hums at this, leans back, thinking. “Take your shower and I’ll let your stay up tomorrow night as well. No cleaning.”

The teen stares up at him, green eyes sleepy as the words slowly process in his mind. “No homework or chores or anything like that?”

“Not one.”

“Done.” Eren pushes himself up and walks into the bathroom in a bit of a daze, pushes the door shut.

“But we’re cleaning the bathroom during the day tomorrow.” Levi says, smoothing out the blanket he’s sitting on.


End file.
